Just Pretend
by ComeAlongPonds11
Summary: When the DEO investigates three suspicious deaths related to a real estate office in the suburbs, Hank and Alex have to go undercover. As a couple. It's okay, though, because they both know it's just an act...right? A Danshaw fic. My first, actually. Oneshot, at the moment, but I'll be adding more chapters later.


**A/N: So, obviously, this is just the first chapter, and I'm totally gonna add more, although I have no idea where I am going with this yet. Please leave a review, and if possible, a suggestion/request for what you think might could happen next. Honestly, it's just sad how few Danshaw fics are out there. Anyway, this is just kind of an intro, and hopefully it'll get more romancey in the next chapter. Enjoy! Edit: Uh, the first time I published this, something went wrong, so I deleted it and now I'm publishing it again. Sorry for the confusion.**

Chapter 1: Playing the Part

[Alex's P.O.V.]

"A fire? Those don't look like a fire could have caused them." I leaned forward, taking a closer look at the picture Hank was holding.

"I don't think it did. I think the folks at the FBI are trying to cover something up," he explained. "None of what's left of the house or the bodies looks like the damage was caused by a fire-or anything earthly, for that matter."

"What, so you think he's an alien?"

"No, but I think there were aliens involved." He held up a picture of a brightly smiling man standing in front of a "for sale" sign. "This is Kenneth Pearson. He owns Pearson Properties, a real estate office that mostly deals with houses in the suburbs. In the past eight months, he has sold three houses to three newlywed or engaged couples, all of which later died in similar suspicious situations. I think he's the one behind this."

I nodded, deep in thought. "So you think one or both of us should check it out? How do you want to do it?"

Vasquez spoke up. "You could go undercover, as newlyweds. Try to become his next victims." I considered this, trying to read Hank's face for signs of approval, or disgust. There were none.

"Well, I don't see why not. What do you think, Agent Danvers?"

"Well, I guess it's the best way to find out what he's doing. And if we're the ones he's trying to kill, we don't risk the lives of anymore innocent people." Hank nodded, standing.

"Vasquez, can you arrange for us to meet with someone at Pearson Properties tomorrow, to look for a house?"

"Yes, sir. It seems like Pearson likes to meet with all his clients personally. He probably has to decide if they will help him with whatever he's planning."

Hank and I spent the next twenty minutes discussing our cover story, disguises, and the like. We decided that I would use my old disguise from when we were hiding, and he would use his abilities to look completely different altogether. As for our cover story, we would be a recently engaged couple, looking for a house to live in together. We discussed things Kenneth might ask us, and the answers we would give. There was still one thing I was worried about.

Hank stood up, about to leave the room. "All right, I think that about covers things, unless there's anything else you can think of."

"Just…to make sure we can play the part."

He turned back to face mean. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"It's just that people who recently became engaged are usually pretty infatuated with each other. I mean, to me it's just disgusting, but I want to make sure you-or that we're both prepared to act that way. You're not exactly a touchy-feely kind of guy."

He cocked an eyebrow. "I think I'll be alright, Agent Danvers." He turned to leave the room, adding, almost under his breath, "as long as you can handle it, of course."

"As long as _I_ can handle it?" I muttered to myself, as Kara and I prepared for game night in her apartment. " _I_ can handle it. I just hope _he_ can handle what a great actress I am. Pfft. As if I couldn't act like-" I looked up, noticing that Kara had stopped what she was doing, and was staring at me.

"Are you alright?"

"What? Yeah, I'm fine."

"Okay. It's just that you've been whispering to yourself like this all night. Is there something I should know about?"

"Just…work problems."

Kara sat down on the couch. She obviously wasn't going to let this go. "Tell me more."

I sighed, sitting down next to her. "I'm a good actress, right?"

"What? What does this have to do with work?"

"Hank and I are going undercover to investigate a real estate office that may or may not be owned by an alien. We're supposed to be engaged, which is a little weird. I'm not entirely sure I can pull off the whole 'in love' thing. I don't have that much experience with it."

"Well, it shouldn't be _that_ hard. I mean, your business is your business, but it's pretty obvious you and Hank care about each other, whether it be purely platonic…or not. Look, you're the one who first said I liked James, right? Because you saw the way I looked at him. Just…look at Hank like that, and you'll be fine." As she said that, there was a knock on the door. I stood up to answer it.

"That'll be Winn."

"Good luck tomorrow," she whispered. I nodded.

The next day, I felt uncomfortable as I entered the DEO. I was wearing my blonde wig, along with a floral print blouse and matching skirt that made me feel like little Bo Peep's garden threw up on me. I looked around for Hank, but I didn't see him anywhere. "Vasquez?"

She looked up from her desk. "Ma'am?"

"Do you know where Director Henshaw is? We had said we would meet here."

"No, ma'am, but there's a man in the corner over there who said he needed to speak with you," she said, smiling a little. I looked at the man she was referring to.

"Do you know who he is? I don't recognize him."

"I think he's a new recruit," she said simply, before returning to whatever she was focusing on before. Hesitantly, I went over to where the man was standing.

"Uh, can I help you?"

"Oh, I'm just looking for my fiancé, Alex Danvers?"

I rolled my eyes, realizing who he was. "It's you."

His eyes glowed red for just a moment, as if in conformation. "Fooled ya."

"Point proven. Kenneth Pearson is going to be a piece of cake."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ When we arrived at Pearson Properties, we were directed to Kenneth's office almost immediately. We sat in two chairs in front of his desk, as he shook hands with both of us.

"Kenneth Pearson. Nice to meet you."

"Katie Phillips."

"And I'm Jackson Riggs. Nice to meet you too."

Kenneth sat down, opening a large folder on his desk. "Well, let's get right to business. You want a house in the suburbs."

As Hank and Kenneth discussed houses (we had decided beforehand that he could do most of the talking), I did my best to imagine the man sitting next to me was going to be my husband. I looked at him as if I had dedicated my life to him. I smiled at him, as if I admired him more than any other man in my life. I put my hand on his atop Pearson's desk, and it felt oddly fitting. I was becoming less and less uncomfortable with our cover story. It felt less like a silly façade, and more like a role that was easy to slip into, as if I had played this role many times before. And as they talked lawns, and rooftops, and price ranges, and I piped up with the occasional suggestion, I began to realize that, in a way, I had.

I had dedicated my life to the DEO, of which he was the head. I looked up to him, because he had saved my life more times than I could count. He was more than a co-worker, no doubt. He was one of my closest friends. " _It's pretty obvious you and Hank care about each other, whether it be purely platonic…or not."_ Kara was right, I did care for Hank, although not in a romantic way, for sure. This wasn't so hard, after all.


End file.
